The Magnifying Glass

Pale Male: Revisited.

 

    I had originally planned to share a new book with you this week, but I got a little sidetracked by a delightful discovery.

     I don't know how many of you remember my review of Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City from last spring, but suffice it to say, it is a big favorite around our house.  So, of course, we were more than excited to discover that the Urban Hawks blog has been closely following the movements and activities of the Pale Male as he goes about his springtime business in New York.  

    The blog is also following a number of other hawks in the area, and there are some really great pictures of all of them.  It's especially fun to see real pictures of the bird that has become such a mythical character in our house; Mariam has been very interested in the fate of Pale Male since first hearing his story and was pretty much beside herself at the idea that she could see things like recent pictures and video.  So, a few links:

- The New York Times has a live-stream camera set up where you can view the nesting (and now egg-sitting) activities of a pair of hawks who have taken up residence atop the library at NYU.

- The Urban Hawks blog is here.  A word of caution for those of you with younger children: many of the activities photographed in recent days have been very, um, spring-like.  Depending on what your little people know about how animals make other animals, you might want to specifically pick the eating and flying posts to share. 

- Speaking of eating, here is a post showing Pale Male having a meal.  There is a video as well as some good close-up shots that show what the bird really looks like. 

 

--- Annie

 

Aphids, Ants, and Artichokes

Reading Dawn's recent aphid post reminded me of an aphid situation we had last year. As an avid gardener, I am not so sure I can openly support the title of Dawn's post. Aphids have never seemed cute to me. Destructive? yes. Devilish? yes. Cute? nope. Their miniature invasions have prompted me to haunt nurseries and garden centers in pursuit of live lady bugs (you can purchase them in bulk quantities for release in your garden) and neam oil. Stick with me. I know this isn't a very positive way to start a post on The Magnifying Glass where we celebrate critters big and small, but I promise to redeem myself.

So back to my aphid story, last winter we made our first attempt at growing artichokes. The growing season got off to a very promising start and before I knew it we had three nice sized purple Sicilian artichokes. I was thrilled and couldn't wait to pick them, but then I started to notice the presence of those not-so-cute-to-me aphids. Over the course of just a few days, their numbers grew quickly and I was began to feel a bit panicky. I also started to notice an increasing number of ants. I began to wonder if the ants had arrived on the scene to eat the aphids. Some sort of Sicilian ant calvary to aid in the rescue of the artichokes? Feeling a bit stumped about the situation, I turned to the internet and was shocked to discover a whole new definition of ant farming. It turns out that the ants weren't there to destroy the aphids. They were actually there to shepard them. Yes,that's right. Ants herding aphids.

It turns out that ants and aphids have quite an interesting symbiotic relationship. The aphids suck up the nutrients from the plants which then gets excreted in a very sweet form of waste which the ants devour. Some ants will even "milk" the aphids to satisfy their sugar cravings. The ants in turn are very protective of their aphid flocks and will actively destroy any approaching threats and assist the aphids in finding new sources for food.

We all became so fascinated with our little farm on the artichokes that I sacrificed our first artichokes so we could continue to watch the shepards and their flock. As their numbers grew, the artichokes were eventually decimated, but here's where things got even more interesting. We then got to watch as the ants physically moved the aphids to other spots in our yard. The lines of ants guiding tiny green aphids away from the artichokes to greener pastures (ie other plants in our garden) became so intense, that they wore down a path from the artichokes to the other side of the garden. I could not believe what we were seeing unfold before our eyes. I still don't think aphids are cute, but I have to admit that they are captivating. So captivating that I willingly sacrificed our first batch of artichokes to watch them and their ant "shepards" and I have no regrets about that at all.

Want to see aphids and ants in action? Watch this. Want to hear even more fascinating facts about ants? Listen to this Fresh Air interview with Mark Moffet.

Aphids are so cute!

I live with a bug lover. My daughter loves to watch insects fly, crawl, eat, molt, swim, well you get the idea. She ardors six-legged creatures of all shapes and sizes.

Now when you are a bug lover living in the cold and icy north it can get tough. So when fate intervenes and brings you some sap thirsty little buggers, when there is still ice out on the bay, you jump at the chance to study them. 

Where did these tiny specimens come from?

It would seems these flowers not only brought beauty to our table but also a few hitchhikers...aphids. 

Once they were spotted it took no time at all before they were being studied.

 

She quickly got her microscope and as they came into view exclaimed, "Aphids are so cute!" After I took a peek myself I had to admit that they were kinda cute in a buggy sort of way. They are not cute on my flowers, and really not cute in our garden in the summer, but under that microscope with their tiny black eyes and long sweeping antennae they were a bit cute.

She begged me go out to the shed to retrieve one of her bug containers, the containers that had not seen the light of day since the frost either killed, or drove into hibernation, every last worthy specimen. 

We are leaving on a long trip soon so we could not keep these little cuties long term, much to my dismay you can imagine. 

For long term care of these and many other arthropods we turn to the book Bug Zoo by Nick Baker. He has great advice for building habitats and for the care and feeding of many things that creep and crawl. 

Are there any insects out in your neck of the woods... either indoors or out? We would love to hear about what you have been observing.

~Dawn

Through the Lens

Carpenter by Litter of Leaves

Underside of a Pebble by kellyireland

This week we have a nature mystery to solve! Does anyone know what caused the squiggles on the underside of the pebble? If so, please share your knowledge with us! And if you haven't had a chance to visit the TMG flickr pool recently, head over there right now. You will see some very cute bunnies, a tadpole in transition, a desert boy, beavers hard at work, and lots of other cool things.

Through the Lens is a weekly series which highlights recent submissions to TMG Flickr pool. Show us what your family has been exploring.